One of the most basic benchmarks in your child’s academic development is learning to read. And reading is the skill that opens the doors to all other learning. So what can you do when it becomes apparent that your child is struggling to become a good reader?
Words are the most valuable things your children can acquire because vocabulary is the cornerstone of reading, and reading is the foundation of all learning.
The more words kids know, the better readers they are and the more they learn. But all readers are limited to the reading level that equals their vocabulary level. If children know fourth grade words, they are limited to fourth grade books. If they know ninth grade words, they are limited to ninth grade books. Some students never make it past fourth or ninth grade words so they never make it past those reading levels. It is important that students’ word levels grow so their reading levels grow.
By Kumar Sathy
Your child is struggling with reading comprehension, reading like a robot, or just unwilling to voluntarily pick up a book and read. You’ve tried everything and exhausted every reward you could possibly dangle in front of your child, and still, you can’t get your child to voluntarily pick up a book and read. What’s the answer? It’s strikingly simple, ridiculously rewarding and equally controversial.
As an experienced educator, former school administrator, tutor, and author of educational materials, I am going to catch a lot of flak for this, but I firmly believe that the best thing a parent can do is resist the temptation to intervene, interrupt, and interrogate while a child is reading.
